I've read Timothy Keller's other works, so I was excited to dig into his latest one. This book is a collection of other Christian's perspectives, world views, and experiences when it comes to living "dual citizenship" (earthly and eternal). How do we reconcile this dichotomy in our secular culture? How do we come from a place of empathy and humility rather than defensiveness? The book is divided into 3 parts: What we think, how we speak, and how we embody our engagement with others. Weaving throughout each story are the characteristics and roles of God has in our individual lives. This work was thought-provoking and challenged my way of thinking and how my upbringing influenced my view of politics. I recommend this for anyone who wants to dive deeper into understanding how we can find common good among us all as we live out our faith here on earth.

I really wanted to read this book because I have read quite a few of Timothy Keller's other writings and have learned so much from him. I think that this book is a good work to have access to because it illuminates a space that many in the Christian faith shy away from. Pluralism is not a topic many Christians dive into, but it shouldn't be neglected. The culture that surrounds us, as believers, should be acknowledged and understood so that we can be effective to share the Gospel to those around us. It discusses political parties and how to work through all that can come because of the division that can arise from this. That chapter is relevant due to the book being published in the year of a presidential election. Politics are being discussed daily via every media and social media platform.

How do we find common ground with the world around us without compromising the Gospel? That is the question that the many contributors of this work is addressing. There are differing perspectives on the same topic in one book, a collection of essays, and it was enlightening to read them all. I think that the content in this book is helpful to at least help the reader see outside of the Christian bubble and pay attention to what is going on around them.

I gave this book 4 stars because I did enjoy it, but there was just one thing that made me cringe just a little. I find it distasteful to have slang or curse words in a Christian living/resource book. The book is based on finding common ground with the world around us, yes, but that doesn't mean that we need to add in a few curse words to make the book feel relevant to its topic. No, it doesn't ruin the book for me, I just don't find it tasteful. When the words are mentioned it really doesn't add anything to the work, so it just seemed unnecessary to me. One author wrote in the words sh%t show in her essay, and another used a movie quote that had A&% h%le in it to make a point. I just think its distracting and unhelpful. There are plenty of quotes you could use and other phrases to make those exact same points without being slang. I understand that the essays are supposed to be real and authentic in nature but in my opinion this isn't the best way to accomplish those goals.

I received this ARC from Netgalley for my honest review. I do recommend this book because it really provides some good perspective to this conversation of culture and social issues that are present in our everyday lives.

"Uncommon Ground" is a collection of essays by various well-known Christian authors and philosophers. Some writers include Timothy Keller, Trillia Newbell, Lecrae, etc. These essays deal with the somewhat delicate walk Christians have to make between their religious beliefs and dealing with the popular culture of the day. Some of these essays were very helpful and practical while others fell flat for me. Overall, this was a good book on a rather nebulous topic.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Keller and Inazu bring such a unique perspective to this book. They brought their own unique style in teaching how Christians should navigate the culture in which we live. I thought it was a very informative and encouraging read to help any Christian navigate faithfully through political, social and the pluralism of culture.

I was attracted to this book because I had read a number of books by one of the authors, Pastor Tim Keller. This book is an anthology of essays by 12 influential Christians in various spheres of life. They are commenting on how Christians should act today in this current American culture that increasingly lacks a shared understanding of life. These essays are very thought provoking. The book would make an excellent resource for church leaders and also for the average Christian to assess his or her life in light of the Gospel, not of the world.
The conclusion gives four recommendations for Christians living in America today that I think are very wise.
1. Christians should not OVERidentifiy with any political party or platform because the politics of BOTH left and right depart from Biblical theology in places.
2. Christians should approach their communities with a posture of love and service.
3. Christians should see that the Gospel subverts rival accounts of reality.
4. Christians should reach out to others with humility, patience and tolerance.
I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking how to live as a faithful Christian today.

This is OK, nothing special. Got bored as I was reading it. I expected a more in depth addressing of the topic.

I am grateful to Nelson books and Netgalley.com for an advance review copy of this book which has in no way influenced the review that you are about to read. I honestly wasn't sure what I was going to make of this book, I requested it based on the author and previous works of his that I had found helpful. I have to say that I loved the book, I particularly enjoyed the fact that the book wasn't just a work by Tim Keller but was in fact a collaboration from a number of different people coming from different perspectives.

The basic premise of the book is that we need to look for the common ground in the society around us, that we need to avoid becoming entrenched in bunkers from which there is no escape other than through attack. Rather we should embrace the good in the world, we should embrace the common grace that God has given to the world all the while not compromising on the gospel.

In a sense this was the most frustrating aspect of the book that all of the chapters are written from a Christian perspective but at times I felt that they could go further in exposing the tensions between the prevailing world view and the Christian gospel. Granted this book isn't written as an apology but it is something that I felt would have added to the book.

All in all a good read, once which I throughly enjoyed and one which caused me to stop and think a few times, i didn't agree with everything that was said but the book was no less enjoyable for that fact.